Pat Maroon to retire early, will not finish the season.

Fans of the Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators that were hoping to give beloved National Hockey League veteran Pat Maroon one glorious final send off this week will unfortunately be left sorely dissapointed.

Last month, Maroon announced that this would be his final campaign in the NHL with plans to end his professional hockey career at the end of the 2024-25 NHL regular season. Maroon made the emotional announcement alongside longtime voice of the St. Louis Blues, Darren Pang, during a rinkside interview.

Unfortunately Maroon has decided to call it quits a little early and will not be finishing the season with the Blackhawks, choosing to forgo the team's final road trip of the season. That news was broken by the very same man who broke the news of Maroon's retirement in the first place, the wonderful Darren Pang, who confirmed that Maroon's final game will actually be later tonight.

On Saturday night, the Blackhawks will welcome the Winnipeg Jets to the United Center for what will be the final home game of the regular season for the Blackhawks. Coincidentally it will now also be the final game of Maroon's incredible illustrious NHL career.

While this is of course a sad bit of news for fans of "The Big Rig" it is important to remember that Maroon has had what I can only describe as a storybook type of career. Despite never being considered an elite-level hockey talent, Maroon carved a role out for himself at the highest level of hockey by being both a commanding physical presence on the ice as well as a "glue guy" in the locker room. That in turn led him to tremendous success, winning 3 Stanley Cup championships in 3 consecutive seasons as a member of two different organizations.

There's no question that Maroon left a long and lasting mark on the sport of hockey, and on the thousands of fans who cheered for him around the hockey world as well.

While it is unfortunate to see him retire early, he has certainly earned the right to rest.